Children Affected by Armed Conflict and Displacement

Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of war, and frequently represent at least half of the population in a conflict area. They suffer fear and insecurity, and disruption to every aspect of their lives. Children who have been displaced are at an increased risk of sexual and physical violence, disease and malnutrition, and separation from family members. As displaced persons or refugees they may experience severe poverty, abuse, exploitation, and psychosocial distress.

Children without parental care in conflict areas are highly vulnerable to abduction or other forms of recruitment by armed forces and groups. Such children may be used to fight, provide labour or be sexually exploited. Involvement in conflict may result in malnutrition, abuse, addiction to drugs, injury, psychosocial distress or death. While children associated with armed forces and groups make up a small minority of the total number of children affected by war, they are extremely vulnerable and in need of particular protection and care.

Opportunities to help children who have been associated with fighting forces may begin with their escape, capture or formal demobilization. Some may be able immediately to reunite with family members, but others may need interim care during tracing. While children may be readily accepted by their family and community, others risk rejection. Family mediation and community sensitization is needed to support family reunification and community integration. Ongoing monitoring, family support services, and placement planning is necessary where children are not reunited with one or both parents or where family and community acceptance is uncertain.

Community action to protect and support war affected children should be inclusive and not limited to children formally associated with armed forces or any one group of children. National efforts should focus on the reestablishment of essential services, particularly in the areas of security, health and education.

While this section contains resources relevant for all children in conflict affected areas, it focuses on children without parental care, including refugees and displaced children, and children associated with armed forces and groups. It includes information on demobilisation, family reunification and community reintegration.

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Building Happy Families IRC Research Brief

Amanda Sim, Research Evaluation & Learning Unit, International Rescue Committee (IRC) , 01 Nov 2014

This research brief provides an overview of an impact evaluation of the “Happy Families Program,” conducted by the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The Happy Families Program is a parenting and family skills intervention designed for Burmese families living on the Thai-Burmese border.

The Arrival of Unaccompanied Minors from Central America to the U.S. Border - IRC Field Visit to Texas and Arizona: Key Findings & Recommendations to Policy Makers

International Rescue Committee, 23 Oct 2014

This report, informed by a field study conducted by the International Rescue Committee, provides a summary of findings and presents recommendations aimed at helping policy makers to improve the current and future response to the arrival of unaccompanied children from Central America to the United States.

Lessons from introducing a livelihood project for unaccompanied children into an existing child protection programme in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya

Camilla Jones, Trish Hiddleston, and Christine McCormick, 08 Oct 2014

This article details the introduction of a livelihood project for unaccompanied children in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, which aimed at strengthening the household economy of foster families and improving the care of fostered children.

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Orphanage Voluntourism in Nepal and its Links to the Displacement and Unnecessary Institutionalisation of Children

Martin Punaks and Katie Feit - Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond Volume 1, Number 2, 01 Sep 2014

This article argues that orphanage voluntourism fuels the displacement and trafficking of children from their families in Nepal and their unnecessary institutionalisation.

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Children on the Run: Unaccompanied Children Leaving Central America And Mexico and the Need for International Protection

UNHCR, 01 Mar 2014

This report, issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, examines the situation and needs of unaccompanied children who emigrate from Central America and Mexico to the United States, and offers recommendations based on those needs.

War Child Holland: Syria Child Rights Situation Analysis January 2014

War Child Holland, 2014

Through participatory information gathering tools, War Child Holland implemented a Child Right Situation Analysis to discuss and analyze the issues identified by Syrian children as the most important to them.

‘For a while out of orbit’: listening to what unaccompanied asylum-seeking/refugee children in the UK say about their rights and experiences in private foster care

Helen Connolly, 2014

There is limited information in the child welfare literature on the circumstances and needs of unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children living in the United Kingdom. This article provides insight into the experiences and feelings of these young people by reporting the findings from a narrative-based research project involving 29 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children age 12 to 21 from a variety of African and Asian countries, with the goal of exploring how these children perceived their rights while in private foster care in the UK.

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Best Practices for Engaging Community-Based Child Protection Mechanisms and Establishing Synergies with the Education Sector: Learning from Protracted Refugee Settings in Uganda and Rwanda

CPC Learning Network, 01 Dec 2013

The aim of this note is to outline some ways of engaging with community-based child protection mechanisms (CBCPMs), especially within the education sector, which apply in both urban and rural protracted refugee settings.

Community-Based Child Protection Mechanisms in Refugee Camps in Rwanda: An Ethnographic Study

Imogen Prickett, Israel Moya, Liberata Muhorakeye, Mark Canavera and Dr. Lindsay Stark - CPC Learning Network, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, HealthNet TPO, TPO Uganda, Avsi, U.S. State Department, 01 Dec 2013

The purpose of this research is to learn about community-based child protection processes and mechanisms in two refugee camps in Rwanda – Gihembe and Kiziba.

The Future of Syria: Refugee Children in Crisis

UNHCR, 01 Nov 2013

This report from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees details the experiences of Syrian refugee children and youth.